1. Field of the Invention
Appliances of many descriptions are known to the prior art. Of these, many are stationary and permanently connected to a power supply. Others, however, are portable (in the sense that they may be moved) with their movement being accommodated by a plug/outlet interconnection between the appliance and the power supply. The present invention provides an improved plug for interconnection to a power supply.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Government regulations and/or operating safety of an appliance often require a fuse which is dedicated to that appliance and independent of the line fuses of the power supply. Typically, such fuses are contained within the appliance. As a result, fuse replacement often requires servicing by a trained technician. In some instances, this is intentional.
In those instances where it is desirable or appropriate to allow consumer servicing of an appliance fuse, the placement of that fuse within the appliance housing requires an unnecessarily cumbersome operation. Among the approaches to facilitate fuse servicing, without access to the appliance housing, are the utilization of a fuse holder within the appliance power cord. Such holders are readily accessible without dismantling the appliance housing. A variation on this approach is the placement of a fuse within the appliance plug, the appliance plug being adapted for insertion in a conventional outlet of any known design. However, both of these approaches may frustrate the purpose of the fuse itself.
Particularly with a line fuse, within the power cord, a shorting device may be easily inserted thereby eliminating the safety factor provided by the fuse. With both the line fuse and those known appliance plugs having provision for a fuse, the plugs may be inserted within an electrical outlet, with or without a fuse in position. The result of these known prior art appliance fusing approaches is to place the fuse within the appliance housing in those instances where fuse tampering is particularly sensitive. Large appliances are examples of devices wherein this approach has been adopted.